A BROKEN BELT UNLEASHES **** (for awhile)

[Bill Pape]

Originally Posted by Turbokitty

You really can't beat an ACCU-LINK belt for just in case... As many of ya'll do, I carry 2 complete sets of spare belts plus an ACCU-LINK belt. It can be installed along side the road to drive the water pump in order to get you to a safe local or service facility. What a shame to have to go through pulling axles etc. just for a broken belt

http://www.harborfreight.com/vibrati...elt-43771.html

This is new item to me, has anyone tried this ACCU-LINK??

[Randy Dupree]

You SP guys do know your Rad will swing out,right?
If not,you need to check that out.
Once you swing that Rad its not a terrible job to put belts on.
Way better than waiting for a tow,a tire truck and then paying to have the axle put back in,new grease etc.

I know some of you are not prepared to change belts,but just think if that had happened in Durango Co.
Or somewhere like that,no techs for 200 miles...

[David Black]

Durango may be 200 miles fro the nearest interstate highway but there are place here to get a RV repaired.

[Randy Dupree]

True,just trying to make a point!
We had to get a guy from Farmington to come up and fix a brake hose during the rally..
We needed you David!
Local intel is good!

[Labrador]

For what it's worth, getting a mobile service truck out to change the belts probably would have been far cheaper and faster. I have trucks (Freightliners) break down in odd places every so often (as recently as yesterday), and the vast majority of the time I just go online to Google, type in the town name, the search for "mobile truck repair" or "truck repair." I am usually able to find a mobile service that can be to my truck within an hour, and the better service trucks are stocked with an array of common belts and hoses. Otherwise the service truck makes a trip to the nearest town to get the needed part, then comes back and installs it. I have had all kinds of minor (belts, filters) to medium (water pump, air compressor) repairs done on the side of a road, and the repair is always much cheaper the the cost of a heavy duty tow.

For example, the roadside repair I had done yesterday turned out to be due to a defective fuel filter O ring; total repair bill was $168 and my driver was up and running within a hour. A tow to the same shop that did the road call would have been at least $500 for the tow alone, no repair included. Time involved would have been hours, and probably dragged into the next week since the initial breakdown was at 4pm Friday and the tow truck would not have brought my truck (and driver) to the shop until after 6. Huge PITA avoided.

I have done this well over a hundred times with very few problems with workmanship and no problems with fraud (almost surprising considering I give my credit card number to a stranger over the phone every time). Most roadside mechanics seem to be pretty resourceful and able to figure out problems on the fly; otherwise they would probably go out of business. In most cases mobile service is better than towing which is very expensive and creates lots of opportunity for vehicle damage, especially with an unique vehicle like a Wanderlodge.

Mobile service is the way to go whenever you can make it work for you, and Google makes it easy to find vendors. I am always a fan of quicker, simpler, and less expensive.

[Dieselbird01]

Originally Posted by Bill Pape

This is new item to me, has anyone tried this ACCU-LINK??

Hi Bill,

Not sure of the brand but where I used to work, they occasionally used that type belt to get machines back in service ASAP - they worked much better than it looked like they would. They usually put them together before installing them though.

[Turbokitty]

All, yes, the accu-link belt is for one of those lonely, out in the middle of nowhere type situations. A cheap $20.00 potential helpmeet

Bottom line for TECHNOMAGE is you did what you had to do and there is certainly no harm in that! Most of us have been in a pickle or two so glad you are back tooling around in your SP

[Mallie Lennon]

It is usually the little things that cause big problem. And you hate it when you have to spend a fortune to replace a fan belt. But in sharing your problems on here you may same someone the same fate.
I am big on spare parts and tools to do what has to be done to avoid a tow or a service call.

And Tom has a valuable tip on finding road service.

[Crit Bliss]

Put this stuff on the Forum gang, Suska has a set of belts in her coach only a couple miles away from where yours broke, I would have been happy to change it for you.

[technomage99]

Thanks for the comments gang. On a 36SP, that ~!^&* pair of belts are at the bottom of the stack. I think the original problem was "mis-matched" belts (after they stretched a little). After a 100 some odd miles the new belts seem fairly loose, (maybe a half inch) of play with an uncalibrated finger. I just need to figure out what a belt tension gage sould read (ie Kirkit I think available off Amazon etc.). The swing out rad has been a boon for repair (think skinny mechanic though).

Had a good experience with the DASH A/C though. Fixed my 93 Caddy A/C at the same time. I'll put my experience about the A/C as a separate comment in possibly another thread.